Noise dangerous and useful
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The harm of noise on the human body has been known for a long time, there have been few studies in this area. The way audible noise and sounds affect living organisms is explored by audiology. Some studies have shown that strong noise is a great danger in combination with dust and vibration. But silence also acts depressingly on a person.
It has long been noted that the sounds of nature have a soothing effect on a person (wind noise, rustle of leaves, raindrops, surf noise, etc.). There are even sanatoriums where treatment is performed with the help of birds singing, which successfully copes with insomnia, headache, improves the general condition of the body. Japanese inventors even came up with a pillow that mimics the sounds of rain.
It turns out, the noise has a double effect: it is necessary for the person and at the same time harmful, it all depends on the source of the noise. Scientists have determined that people with mental work react more strongly to noise. Young people have less sensitivity to noise. Particularly harmful influence is made by noise on small children: they become moody, irritable, more often frightened, they can break sleep, appetite worsen, etc. When assessing noise in schools, it was found that 65 dB already significantly reduces the attention of children, and this leads to more errors.
Our hearing is most vulnerable to noise. The maximum sensitivity level of the human ear is 130 dB. Most of all, the human ear perceives high tones, with age, the susceptibility decreases, which is quite natural, older people do not perceive high tones. But when the hearing decreases as a result of the impact of negative factors, this is another matter. In the modern world, millions of people who are hard of hearing, and first of all, the noise is to blame.
When observing workers in noisy industries (mining, coal mining, weaving shops, aircraft pilots, etc.), it has been shown that a prolonged and severe exposure to noise leads to regular headaches, increased irritability, decreased performance, dizziness, and gradual hearing loss. The love of loud pop music, especially rock and "heavy metals," leads to a decrease, and sometimes a complete loss of hearing in young people. Such people develop some kind of narcotic dependence on loud music, they constantly strive to be surrounded by loud sounds, they do not get tired of normal loudness. But over time for such a hobby will have to pay a very high price.
Our hearing organ, of course, can get used to any noise, there is an auditory adaptation. However, this does not mean that such a process can protect us from partial or total hearing loss in the future. A person, of course, can get used to the constant noise of trains, heavy trucks, the roar of aircraft engines, loud music, etc., but ultimately it will lead to hearing loss, and our nervous system will suffer first. With prolonged and strong noise exposure, disorders of the central nervous system are observed, since the sound waves affect not only the human hearing aid, but also the whole body.
